Character

I found this really cool quote about character when I was reading.

"One of the greatest indicators of righteous character is the capacity to recognize and appropriately respond to other people who are experiencing the very challenge or adversity that is most immediately and forcefully pressing upon us. Character is revealed, for example, in the power to discern the suffering of other people when we ourselves are suffering; in the ability to detect the hunger of others when we are hungry; and in the power to reach out and extend compassion for the spiritual agony of others when we are in the midst of our own spiritual distress. Thus Character is demonstrated by looking, turning, and reaching outward when the instinctive response of the "natural man" (Mosiah 3:19) is to turn inward and to be selfish and self-absorbed" (David A. Bednar, Power to Become, 11)

I would like to have a righteous character, I am just not very good at looking outside myself. I have a lot to work on.

His Image

Have you received his image in your countenance?

I love the scripture in Alma that states "...Have you received his image in your countenances? Have you experienced a change of heart...I would ask, can you feel so now? (Alma 5:14; 26)  I have pondered on these scriptures many times in my life and asked myself these same questions. Depending on the time and place I am in my life I answer them differently. They are questions that help me evaluate where I am in my life. Sometimes I am doing well and other time I need to fix some things. As I ponder this in my own life I have asked myself, what does it mean to have "his image in your countenance"?  The answer to that may be different for each person however to me it means to emulate Christ. In order to emulate Christ you must know him. I found the greatest way to know Christ is through reading the scriptures, pondering his teaching and example and building a relationship with him through prayer. When we receive his image in our countenances our hearts change and we want to be more like Christ and we begin to follow his teachings and example.